One has to be suspicious of a building that calls its first
floor the fifth and which morphs into the Math Sciences Building
without much of a warning.
Boelter Hall is not a safe place for the gullible ““ or the
casual tourist.
But there were rumors that it might be worth a visit. And sure
enough, as I’m walking down an anonymous corridor, a radio
singing something from Pink filters softly out of one of the rooms:
Hearing those lyrics in the middle of an otherwise quiet hallway
suggests the rumors might be true.
Welcome to Café by the SEAS.
That’s the School of Engineering and Applied Science,
buddy.
Hidden in Boelter 5800W (though it’s a secret only to
those who don’t frequent the building), the SEAS Café
““ as it’s known for short ““ has made its home in
Boelter for 11 years now.
It’s not quite the Northern Lights of South Campus. The
fare isn’t as cosmopolitan, the decor isn’t as
matching, and the music isn’t quite the same.
But who cares? Not the regulars, who include faculty and TAs.
And not the students, who stop in for less-than-$4 sushi, $0.60
bagels, $0.80 croissants, or just a bag of cheese popcorn. Unlike
other campus eateries that are managed by the Associated Students
of UCLA, the SEAS Café is run by the Engineering Society. It
prides itself on low prices.
Every seat, at 12:30 p.m., is taken ““ no qualms about
violating personal space here. A few copies of the Los Angeles
Times are shared by students sitting at each of the
café’s three rectangular tables.
Every so often, spasmodic beeps coming from the two video game
consoles in the corner will interrupt the radio. The copy machine,
sitting next to a recycling bin full of wasted pages of illegible
calculations, is out of toner.
Cartoons ““ animé, Garfield, the Little Mermaid
““ are scrawled across the wall, along with countless signs
imploring customers to pick up after themselves. Comics clipped
from the newspaper, replete with academic humor, are enlarged and
fill in some of the empty wall space.
There aren’t any windows.
Janet Fu has worked at the café since her first year, when
she thought she would be majoring in chemical engineering. Then,
during her second year, she changed her mind. But Fu, now a
fourth-year English student minoring in political science, still
works the cash register.
The register, by the way, doesn’t have a scanner. The
employees must memorize the prices of everything in the store. When
I bought my own lunch there last week ““ sushi and a bottle of
juice for $4.60 ““ Fu had my change ready even before I pulled
out a $5 bill.
It’s an odd little place, Boelter 5800W. Packaged food
might not qualify as exotic, but it lends itself to a colorful
community nevertheless, microwavable burritos and all.
As I’m leaving, something catches my attention. Obscured
by an empty plastic tub with a Wonka Laffy Taffy label, resting on
the same metal shelf as the napkins, straws and soy sauce,
there’s a nondescript sign.
“This plaque is dedicated to the sweat, blood and tears
shed by those students, faculty and administrators who worked to
see that this café would not die in vain. Founded 1949;
Relocated 1993.”
And who said engineers don’t have a sense of humor?
At the bottom, it reads, “Of the students, for the SEAS,
by the SEAS.”
Sure, it’s a little mixed up, but Café by the SEAS is
a little quirky like that.
E-mail Jenkins at [email protected].